


All I want for Christmas...

by KairiUJMK



Category: Mabinogi (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Christmas, Christmas Wishes, F/M, Fluff, Is Talvish Back, Kotoba ni Dekinai, Letters, Q_Q, Snowflower, Wishing Tree, all i want for christmas, happiness, in-game events, present, santa, takepon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:36:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21899791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KairiUJMK/pseuds/KairiUJMK
Summary: There's only one thing in all of Erinn Kairi wants for Christmas, and no way to obtain it...or is there a way?
Relationships: Milletian/Torvish | Talvish (Mabinogi)
Kudos: 1
Collections: Collection





	All I want for Christmas...

**Author's Note:**

> Ah, my chest was hurting writing this seriously. Kairi really likes to make me physically suffer with her love life in reality. The song I was listening to didn't help me either, but it seems to fit so I'll put it below to start the mood.
> 
> Warning: If you listen to the song. Prepare some tissues, it never fails to make me cry at 3:50 and so forth :sadcat:

  
  


**Kairi side**

Christmas Eve, a day of merriment. Where friends can laugh and enjoy themselves and each other's company before gifts are shared or set under a tree. It was also the day for good children to receive their gifts from Santa Claus at night when they sleep. At least that's what it should be, but for Kairi...it just wasn't enough.

She stared at the flier in her hand that Caravan Joe sent to her. It was an event for Christmas wishes in Belvast. It was a simple event. Write your wish on a slip of paper and then tie it to the wishing tree in Belvast, Dunbarton, Tir, or Emain for a token. There was typically only one tree in Belvast, but for this event they were almost everywhere due to the mass of Milletians.

She signed as she made her way through the crowd of Milletians to reach Caravan Joe.

As the red-headed pompadour man saw her his grin widened, "Why hello, kairiujmk, glad you could make it! As you can see, this event is quite the hit with the Milletians so far!"

"Uh, Joe," Kairi got out rather awkwardly as she looked around at the people staring at her oddly, "You know I don't like people using my full name..."

"Oh right, I forgot. Comes with the job," Joe replied as he grinned wider, was such a wide grin even humanly possible? "By the way. You will join this event, right? I'll make it worth your while~"

Kairi merely sighed. It wasn't like this event could give her what she truly wanted...but it was at least something to do. "Sure thing, Joe. What do I need to do?"

Joe smiled as he spoke up loud and clear, "Well, all you need to do is collect 10 lively melodies by playing a song with 300 notes and lasting over a minute 10 times. Simple. Then I'll give you a slip so you can write your wish and tie it to the tree. Then Christmas day, it'll come true~"

Kairi sighed but complied anyway, playing random songs she had in her Carasek bag; some fit the criteria, others didn't. As she turned in her melodies and received her slip, she wondered what to write on it. It wasn't like the wish she wanted would come true. With another heavy sigh, she wrote on the slip and hung it up on the tree before leaving to check out the festival, unaware of the eyes that had been watching her.

  
**Talvish Side**

Talvish watched Kairi wander off, curiosity in his eyes as he silently and carefully tailed after her, his eyes every so often darting back towards the tree to recall where her wish was. It wasn't like he wanted to pry, he was just curious.

Just what could the Hero of Erinn desire? What wish did she make upon that tree? He just wanted to know.

Though as he turned his attention back to see her heading towards a stall selling spiked cider, he quickly redirected his efforts. He had sworn not to let her have another drink after that last drinking incident...

After managing to secretly stop her from any alcoholic purchases, he was losing sight of her and the tree, he couldn't focus on both! He turned to one of his winged 'helpers' and had them stake the tree to keep an eye on her wish for him to revisit later as he tailed after her once more. He was a bit concerned that she didn't seem to be having as much fun as the other Milletians around, in fact, she almost seemed down right miserable. He was just about tempted to return to the tree to read her wish, and if it was within his power to grant he'd do anything to bring a smile onto her face once more...though seeing her stop at a shop selling 'wine and spirits' didn't help him at all with that thought.

**Kairi side**

Kairi returned to her mansion as she had a weird day. The stores with alcohol were suddenly out of stock, or a bottle she'd grab to buy was no longer in her possession, and one glass of BnR she had bought suddenly seemed to have evaporated into thin air before she could take a sip. She pouted as she had really wanted to buy some eggnog, spiked or not, though the virgin eggnog was out and only spiked remained.

As she entered into her bedroom and sat on her bed, she tried thinking of what to do before the day ended. A quick thought filled her mind as she ran into her lobby and began rearranging furniture and installed a Christmas Tree she had gotten from the events. She wiped the sweat off her brow as she nodded proudly at her new arrangement.

"Yosh! Now we can all sit down and enjoy a party, presents, and food, and music, and..." Kairi cheerfully got out until her voice kept dropping and dropping until she stared down at the ground once more. Her eyes became glassy as she fought back some tears when she looked up at the arrangement, "Just who is gonna come to party....no one visits anyways..."

She sat in one of the many empty chairs in her lobby as she laid her head down on the table, there was still some day time to burn....but she couldn't see a point. She was lonely, no immediate family, and friends never visited or dared to enter her home despite her invitations due to unknown reasons. The Alban Knights had been busy as of late, so they at least had their excuse.

She laughed at herself as she turned her head to see the door to her kitchen, "Could always make some cookies for Santa....heh, not like he exists..."

As she contemplated the thought more she just gave in. A traditional plate of cookies, a glass of milk, and a letter...it couldn't hurt to do them. Who knows, perhaps the cheerfulness of the Christmas Spirit could make her feel better. She rolled up her sleeves and got to work.

**Talvish Side**

When Talvish saw her vanish, he hoped she had returned home as he went to check what her wish was. As he flipped over the paper he was surprised to find it was blank. In fact all the other Milletian's wishes seemed to be blank.

"Are you trying to peek on people's wishes? Shame on you!" Caravan Joe shouted suddenly which made Talvish flinch and tense up at being caught.

As Talvish turned towards Joe he saw the man grin as he spoke up, "Oh! If you're a new Milletian and are wondering what's going on, you could've just asked me~. Once you register with me as the main account for this event, you can work to write your wish as well. And FYI, loving that look, which gacha did you pull that from?"

Talvish wanted to speak up, but to find out what was going on he'd play along despite having no clue as to what was happening or what this man was talking about, "I would be interested, though it seems that the wishes are blank though."

Caravan Joe wagged his finger, "Of course you can't read them silly! You can write them no problemo, but once their placed upon the tree they're only viewable after sun down! Genius is it not? That way people can't peek on other people's wishes so easily."

Talvish sighed heavily, seems he'd be waiting till sun down to read her wish. He quickly disappeared as Caravan Joe turned around to avoid speaking to him further.

**Kairi side**

Kairi placed down the plate of cookies on her desk by her bed, a glass of milk as company. She was tempted to eat them as she sat down at her desk and stared down at the empty piece of paper before her.  
She hadn't written a letter to Santa since she was a child, this felt a bit ridiculous.

She started writing beginning with 'Dear Santa', her cheeks began to flush up as she began writing, the more she wrote the more flustered she was getting. Though no matter how flustered she was with what she was writing, she wouldn't stop, she couldn't. It was like something was possessing her to write what was in the depths of her heart, and once she was done, she slammed her forehead down onto the table, and not lightly. 

"How did a simple letter turn into this mush?!" She squeaked out as she lifted her letter to stare at it's contents.

She trembled as she thought about crumpling it up and tossing it away or burning it in the fireplace, but she just sighed as she set it by the plate and cup. Writing the letter had cheered her up quite a bit. 

With a stretch and a yawn she stared out at the window. The sun was gone, Christmas was tomorrow, and she already sent out all her gifts. She'd just head to bed and throw out the bad milk in the morning....

She quickly got up and drank the milk before writing a P.S. on the letter with an apology for drinking the milk. She felt a little silly to apologize to someone who didn't exist, but it made her feel a bit better as she crawled back into bed. She hoped her dreams were better than her day today.

**Talvish Side**

As the sun set most all the Milletians had left the area of the wishing tree, all that remained was Caravan Joe. When Joe turned his back, Talvish sneakily went to check on Kairi's wish. There was writing on the slips now from what he could see on other's slips of paper. It took him a while to find hers, as he flipped it over and read it his eyes widened. It was no wish at all. All that was written was 'What's the point?'

He blinked dumbly at the slip of paper in his hand. Did she not have a wish? Perhaps she had nothing she wished for at the moment. Though judging by the words, she appeared to have one, but felt it wasn't worth it. Why?

"You again?! I already told you, no pee-" Joe shouted as he caught Talvish again, only this time Talvish didn't stick around to hear his complaints. If she had a wish, he wanted to know what it was, even if it meant asking her directly and coaxing it out of her.

As he arrived in her homestead, he knocked on the door to her mansion, but there was no response. He let out a silent apology as he let himself in. He took in the decor; the Christmas tree had a few boxes underneath, perhaps gifts from friends. There were 4 tables set, each with a pair of chairs and a pot of white flowers nearby in a rectangular fashion. Her greenhouse flowers were at the walls to make room for the lobby's floor to allow perhaps for a musical band to be set, or for dancing. Either way, it appeared she was set for a party of sorts.

He slowly made his way over to her room and once more silently apologized as he slowly and carefully opened the door. The room was dimly lit by a small heart shaped tree in the corner of her room. It was covered in various Christmas and candy decorations along with twinkling colorful lights. The main light came from two candy canes that formed a heart at the top, it somehow let out a warm pinkish glow. 

His eyes landed on her bed as he saw the covers rise and fall. As he moved closer, her face that was under the covers somewhat came into view. He watched as she fidgeted uneasily in her sleep, her cheeks were a bright red, though her lips were tucked into a heavy frown. He reached out to pat her head to wake her from the seeming nightmare, but her words threw him off as she flailed and tossed herself in her bed away from her desk, "Hnnng~, No Santa! Don't read that aloud! Caravan Joe is listening! He'll never let me live it down! Mmfuuu...."

Talvish could only wonder what she was dreaming about, but before he could reach in to wake her, the plate, glass, and letter caught his attention. 

He stared at the letters atop the scroll of paper 'To Santa'. He blinked confused at the letter, just why was she writing to Santa Claus? Wasn't she a bit too old for such festivities? As he unrolled the letter and began to read, every thought was pushed back. His eyes widened, his cheeks flushed and his heart began to race as he read onward, his focus was entirely on the letter in his hands.

_'Dear Santa,_

_I know this letter is a bit late for Christmas, and I'm sorry for not sending it sooner.  
I also know you're a very busy man, you have lots of gifts and wishes to deliver this night, but....  
If you could find some time along your deliveries... would you please grant mine?  
I don't want fancy gifts or materialistic things, there's just one thing I want...  
I want to know...if Talvish is happy...I mean I want him to be happy! So...I want to know...  
Oh! You're probably wondering who Talvish is.  
He's, someone VERY special to me...Someone I love dearly.  
I-I mean, I know you have your magical snowball so you can see if he's been naughty or nice.  
Ah, but don't let that stabbing me through thing phase you! H-He's really a good person! Honest!  
I'm not even mad about that, I never was! He was just doing what he felt was best for the world...  
Although it wasn't the best thing for the world and kinda a betrayal to his beliefs and Aton Cimeni...  
But I forgive him! So please!  
If it's not too much...and if you can find him on your sleigh ride...  
I say if cause he kinda became some divine being and poofed in a burst of light and I can't find him.  
But if you do, please ask him for me.  
And tell him not to overwork himself!  
And to at least write or visit or something!  
And to eat properly, or come to visit so I can cook for him!  
And to dress warm in cold weather cause his divine form has that slit on his chest and his shoulders bare!  
And...And...to not get hurt....to be careful. Cause a lot of people want to hurt him...and I can't do anything to protect him from that...  
That's all I can think of.  
Please have a Merry Christmas._

_Sincerely,  
Kairi UJMK_

_P.S. I'm sorry I drank your milk. I thought it'd go bad by the time you arrived. Wouldn't want the runs on an important day.'_

He trembled in his spot, re-reading the letter over and over, he almost fell to his knees at the word 'forgive'. She had forgiven him, forgiven him for all that he had done to her. And what she wanted...was just his happiness. He couldn't help but smile at her rant at the end, he wasn't sure if he wanted to call such doting the caring of a mother for child or a wife towards her husband. He watched her turn in her sleep towards him, her face irritated. His grin widening as she spoke out again, "Nnyuuu, See what you did....now Eirawen's gonna announce it to the whole kingdom...you pompadour jerk....mnnyuuu"

He thought about how he could grant her wish. All she wanted, was to know that he was happy. Sure he was busy, and the lack of company truly didn't make him happy, but... As he clutched onto her letter tightly, watching her sleep soundly, he knew. This feeling in his chest, this was happiness.

He thought for a while before he came to an idea. He quickly left her homestead to return to the Christmas event area. That red-haired man was still there, just his luck!

As Joe turned to him he frowned big time, "Come back to peek more on people's deepest wishes? Really! In all my years of event hosting I've never seen such an inconsiderate-"

Talvish lightly bowed, "I'm sorry. I was just trying to figure what a-," he froze at trying to say the next words, "...'good friend' of mine wished for."

He rubbed the back of his head, the words 'good friend' somehow seemed to have an odd taste coming out of his mouth now. He wasn't sure why, he had no trouble before, and Kairi was precious to him. Though as he gripped the letter in his hand tighter, he realized calling her that wasn't appropriate now, but what could he call her if not a 'good friend'?

Joe then lightened up, "Ah! Understandable, last minute Christmas shopping. Though you're very late."

Talvish rubbed his head, "Yes, I'm rather late. Would you mind explaining what prizes are available for this event you have?"

Joe grinned brightly, "Oh boy! Hold onto your seat, cause boy do I got a list for you!"

As Talvish listened to the list, he found that within the boxes lay a chance for an item that was very rare called a 'Snowflower'. According to Joe it was a bouquet of flowers made of snow that were enchanted to never melt. That was what Talvish wanted! "So what do I have to do to obtain one of these Snowflowers?"

Joe answered simply, "All you gotta do it play some music, 300 notes, 1 minute long to earn a Lively Melody. 10 will be one box and one wish slip. Though since you appear to be in a hurry, I'll just give you a box containing one, but I'll need those 10 melodies."

Talvish sweat dropped, he couldn't play music period. The last time he had attempted to play a lute, Avelin scolded him horribly for the 'irritating racket' as she put it.

Joe seemed to read his mind, "It doesn't have to be perfect playing. Just 10 times and it's done~."

Talvish sighed heavily as he asked to borrow a lute from Joe and resigned himself to playing random music for 10 minute straight. With melodies in hand, he made the trade and stared at the glowing flowers in his hands. Kairi would certainly love these, and with them being enchanted to not melt ever, he could rest assured she'd have them for years to come. The first half of his gift was complete.

Joe pulled out the ear plugs he put on after hearing a few seconds of Talvish's playing, "Oh, you might wanna step on it. It's gonna be midnight."

"Thank you, kindly," Talvish said gratefully as he rushed back into her homestead and carefully reentered her room. Now, to complete her wish, he had to write a response letter, to express his happiness to her. He took her quill and ink and began to form a letter, but he ran into one problem...calling her 'friend'.

He found himself scratching out the words over and over, it just didn't feel right, he wasn't comfortable with it, though he still couldn't understand why. He wracked his brain for hours, eating the cookies on the plate as he scratched, wrote, scratched, thought more, then wrote again. He even changed positions, from sitting on her desk chair to sitting on the bed beside her to give her cheek and hair a few affectionate strokes. He couldn't lie that it calmed him considerably to do compared to sitting at her desk. As light began to come in through the windows, Talvish scrambled to finish the letter. Once he signed it, he carefully set the flower above it and left hastily.

He could only pray that in some way or form that he managed to grant her Christmas wish.

**Kairi's side**

As Kairi rolled over to face the window, she was awakened by the rays of the sun piercing red through her eyelids. She turned over and rubbed her eyes, though as she looked at her desk to see the cookies gone, the letter there, and a flower, she had to rub her eyes more to see that she wasn't seeing things.

She got up and looked at the flowers. They were beautiful, they were practically glowing and sparkling crystal white. She had wanted to get this from the event, just who gave this to her? And who ate her cookies? As she looked at the scrolled up letter, the words 'To Kairi', caught her attention. And now just who wrote to her?

Only one person seemed to fit the bill, takepon, though even he wouldn't have just left left her alone without some warning or word. He was good about doing that so she wouldn't feel abandoned. As she opened the letter, the sender's name made her breath stop, her eyes now glued like a hawk to the font as she read on.

_'Dear Kairi,_

_I realize it's been a while, ~~my~~ ~~friend~~ , ~~good friend~~ , ~~precious friend~~ , ~~beloved friend~~ , Kairi.  
I just so happened to be in the area and decided to drop by.  
~~I apologize for entering your room as you slept.~~ Please disregard this...  
I apologize for entering your house without permission.  
I also read your letter and ate your cookies for Santa. I apologize.  
Though, if you must know.  
In all truthfulness, I've been a bit too busy to truly be happy.  
I don't mean to worry you thought, and I apologize for doing so if I have.  
I...can't begin to express my relief to hear of your forgiveness.  
I also apologize, I can't not overwork myself. Much needs to be done.  
I can't visit or guarantee I won't be harmed, I'm truly sorry.  
Also, I don't quite feel the cold as I once could, so there's no need for me to dress warmly.  
And while I've no need to eat-'  
_

Kairi felt her heart dropping, but as she read on, she almost crumpled the letter with how tight she began to squeeze it. Her heart was feeling so heavy, her body began to tremble as her cheeks heated up.

_'I will take you up on that offer to cook for me. It's been a while since I've had a made meal by you. I'd be grateful.  
I'll try not to run myself ragged for your sake, and I will be cautious.  
I could try to visit once in a great while, though I'm afraid I can't make it for too long or too often.  
Also, I don't quite have warm clothes to cover up, but if I can find a few, I'll gladly wear them in cold weather.  
Because, while I might not be happy just on my own, seeing you happy, and knowing just how much you care for me, is what makes me happy.  
So, stay safe, keep warm, and be happy.  
You are a ~~bel~~ very precious person to me._

_Wishing you good tidings and a Merry Christmas,  
Talvish'_

She felt herself trembling badly with mixed emotions. She was sad that she didn't see him or hear from him in person...but more than that...she was...so happy. So happy, it was indescribable in words.

Her lips couldn't help but pull up so much it was becoming painful for her cheeks and she held onto the flowers and letter tightly to her chest, "Geez! Wake me up next time you visit, YOU-!....You...." Her energy began to leave her quickly as she sank to her knees on the floor smiling happily as the tears poured out. She looked back down at the flowers in her arms softly, her voice almost falling to a hush, "you.............loveable.......doof...." 

She fell over asleep on the floor for the next few hours, her stamina drained from the ranges of emotion that had mercilessly bombarded her internally. She might not have the greatest Christmas ever, but it was certainly better now since she wasn't spending it completely alone in sense.

**Author's Note:**

> Used the current Christmas events going on and just tweaked it about and incorporated the Wishing Tree in Belvast...cause that thing needs love!  
> The Flower isn't rare, it's a prize for completing the Make a Wish quest 10 times (in other words, 20 wishes, 2 wishes per real life day for a total of 10 rl days).


End file.
